The latest national 999 call answering figures have shown Cumbria Constabulary to be one of the top-performing forces for emergency call answering.

Each month national 999 call answering figures are published, with the September figures released this week.

Figures: 999 performance data | Police.uk (www.police.uk)

The figures show that Cumbria Constabulary are the second-best performing force in the country for percentage of 999 emergency calls answered within 10 seconds, with 87.5% of emergency calls answered within this time.

The performance is far from a one-off. The same data shows that Cumbria Constabulary is one of only a handful of forces consistently amongst the top performing for answering 999 calls in less than 10 seconds, featuring in the top six every month since January.

Chief Superintendent Carl Patrick said: “Providing a swift and effective response to emergency calls starts with the speed in which 999 calls are answered.

“We are delighted to see this continued performance and is testament to the consistent approach we have shown to prioritising the service we provide to those who contact the Constabulary – both for emergencies and non-emergencies.

“The published figures demonstrate that this achievement is far from one good month, it is continued high performance and I can assure the public that the Constabulary will continue to strive to be amongst the best performing police forces in the country moving forward.”

To ensure that emergency calls can continue to be answered as quickly possible, the Constabulary are keen to highlight the importance of the public only using the 999 number in an emergency.

A person should call 999 when:

• a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed
• someone is in immediate danger or harm
• property is in danger of being damaged
• a serious disruption to the public is likely

If your matter is not for one of the above, please report using our non-emergency online reporting form at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it or call 101. If you do call on 101, you can use our call back function which will keep your place in the queue and alert you when you reach the front.

Ch Supt Patrick said: “One of the factors which has helped us to achieve our 999 call answering goals has been the behaviour of the public.

“We regularly remind people not to call 999 unless it is an emergency and to look first to online reporting rather than the phone when contacting the police for a non-emergency.

“If you do prefer to call rather than report online, please take the opportunity to use our call-back function. The call back option allows you to get off the phone whilst holding your place in the queue and receive an automatic call once you reach the front.

“Once you answer the call back you will then rejoin the queue and be next in line to speak with a police officer in our Command and Control Room.

“This keeps our Command and Control Room available to answer the most urgent calls on our 999 emergency line.

“By continuing to do this, people can help ensure that their police force’s emergency call answering times remain among the best in the country.”

Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, said: “Cumbria Constabulary consistently ranks as one of the top-performing forces for answering 999 calls which is a superb  achievement demonstrating a real commitment to serve our communities to the highest standard  As members of the public we can be assured that when we need the help of the police in a real emergency, they are ready to respond quickly.

“I would also note that 101 non-emergency response times continue to improve alongside various methods to contact the police for less urgent matters.

“The Constabulary continue to improve service across the board but we can all help by using 999 only in emergency situations and use 101 or contact through email or the constabulary website in non-emergencies.

“Together we can continue to make Cumbria an even safer place to live.”